Updated at 5:27 p.m.
State College Police announced Tuesday charges were filed against eight Penn State students for furnishing alcohol to minors, culminating an investigation into the events surrounding 19-year-old Penn State cheerleader Paige Raque’s five-story fall from a downtown apartment window on Oct. 13.
Raque suffered a brain injury and a broken pelvis when she fell 39 feet from a fifth-story window.
Police said they have determined the fall to be accidental via a press release.
Police conducted a Source Investigation Project which led them to identify eight Penn State students who furnished alcoholic beverages to minors who were attending a party hosted in apartment 507 at 520 E. Calder Way on Oct. 13.
The furnishing charges are a misdemeanor, police said.
The following students were charged in connection to the incident:
- Tempest Hourston, 21
- Megan Markovitz, 21
- Adaire Robinson, 21
- Alexandria Hipple, 20
- Brooke Piccione, 20
- Alyssa Duffy, 19
- Julie Hannan, 19
- Madeline Miller, 19
Four cheerleaders and one member of the Penn State Lionettes Dance Team were among those charged. All five are no longer with their respective squads because of a violation of team rules, according to the university.
“We are aware that some students have been charged by Borough of State College Police and we are dealing appropriately with students’ status on their respective teams,” university spokesperson Jill Shockey wrote in an email. “All students will have to face potential sanctions from the University’s Office of Student Conduct, which will receive the police report and conduct its own review.
“We are still concerned for Paige’s recovery. This was a tragic and unfortunate accident that could have been avoided.”
Raque was flown to the trauma center of Altoona Regional Health System on the night of her accident before being moved out of the intensive care unit to a rehabilitation center in her hometown of Louisville, Ky.
In October, police filed for and executed a search warrant to obtain Raque’s medical records from Mount Nittany Medical Center to determine whether alcohol was a factor in her fall.
Police said Raque will not be charged.
Last week, her brother Parker, a member of the Penn State men’s gymnastics team, updated her condition on Twitter, writing she’s continuing cognitive and physical therapy daily and still has nerve pain in her feet.
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